Update:
Bit of reality interjected into this matchup is that HC Mike
Martz may rest some of the players during the game if the
win appears in hand and the Eagles who play on Saturday evening
lost their game. If Philly loses to Washington, which is more
of an "any given Sunday" thing, then the Rams have
already secured the #1 seed in the NFC and have nothing to
win in the game.

Artose Pinner is expected to take the
start but will share with Shaun Bryson in the bad rushing
game.

Isaac Bruce continues to be a big question and seems most
likely to not play so I am not projecting for him. Marshall
Faulk may get a rest in the game as he has in previous similar
situations as well as Bulger handing the reins off to Warner
sometime during the game if the Eagles lose or the Rams are
safely in the lead. I am not changing any of the projections
which are based on one scenario, but be aware that at least
Bulger and Faulk have a significant risk of not finishing
the game if the situation warrants getting them rest before
the playoffs begin.

There is a probability that Mike McMahon gets snaps in the
game too as Mariucci conducts his experiment to see if McMahon
is worth keeping next season. I am including numbers for both
since it could happen but that is up to Mariucci's whim during
the game.

St. Louis Notes

The Rams rise to 12-3 and thanks to the Eagles loss, now
have the best record in the NFC. For a team that dominates
at home (7-0) and yet struggles on the road (4-3), this falls
under the heading of a "good development".

Marc Bulger comes off his ninth multiple touchdown
game of the season and has four 300+ yard games during 2003.
In the past four games, Bulger has remained between 222 and
236 yards which is his norm when Faulk gets on track.

Marshall Faulk has five 100 yard rushing efforts this
season and turned in 121 yards last week against the Bengals
with two scores. All five big games have been in the last
six weeks as Faulk finally has been playing healthy in an
offense that is clicking. Faulk has ten scores on the year
and is only one touchdown from tying Cris Carter's fourth
place in NFL history with 131 touchdowns. Bet he scores at
least once, maybe twice this week.

Isaac Bruce did not play last week with a high ankle
sprain and is not expected to play this week. That allows
Torry Holt to finish up an outstanding regular season
that has witnessed him leading the NFL with 112 catches and
1642 yards this year. He leads Randy Moss by six receptions
and 74 yards and Moss gets to visit the Cardinals. Since Holt
draws the Lions, it should be a rather nice afternoon for
both the elite receivers.

Match against the Defense:
The Lions have one of the worse pass defenses in the league
and have the entire season even before they lost set after
set of defensive backs. DE Kalimba Edwards suffered a torn
groin muscle and is gone for the season and DE Robert Porcher
may not play due to wrist and elbow injuries. DT Luther Ellis
is still out because of a concussion. It just never ends.

The Rams need to win in order to assure the only away game
is the Super Bowl. Beyond that, they can decide how they want
to win. Bulger should manage two scores since nine other teams
have done so and Faulk needs to get two touchdowns to place
him fourth on the all-time list. Bruce will not play so Holt
is a lock to score once and maybe twice.

Detroit Notes

At 4-11 and having lost the last three weeks, the Lions are
now playing their final game of the season by randomly selecting
people out of the stands to play defense.

HC Steve Mariucci wanted to see what Mike McMahon
could do last week which resulted in him throwing 4 of 11
for 36 yards and one interception. This was actually better
than Joey Harrington who came in to save the day by
completing 3 of 8 for 17 yards. At some point you would think
they would just throw Hail Mary passes every play and willingly
accept the 5% success rate.

The Lions have a rushing game by rumor and innuendo but nothing
is proven yet. Artose Pinner led the runners last week
with 12 runs that only netted 22 yards.

Match against the Defense:
The Lions have not given up on the season though their record
hardly refutes the notion. They just do not have the talent
to run a medium-sized McDonalds, let alone the Mariucci scheme.

All you are hoping here is for trash time scores and yardage
and that could easily happen at home once the Rams take a
significant lead. Since that could be the final three quarters,
the Lions may have a decent box score by appearance though
the running game will really struggle. Look for Harrington
to produce some respectable numbers via sheer volume.

Team Comparisons - Current team
rankings (1-32) for FF points scored or allowed
by position